"charge mode"is gone in 2017

[gonkulator]

I'm pretty sure you're mistaken. You can drive with with any of the driving dynamics settings with "EV mode" plug-in hybrid mode. In fact you can switch from Dynamic, Auto, Comfort or Individual at any time whilst driving in "EV," "Hybrid," "Hold," or in pre-2017 models, "Charge."

With the e-tron, the only option to change for "Individual" driving dynamics is steering (options include Comfort, Dynamic, or Auto). Also driving dynamics is not the what determines aggressive regeneration. Aggressive regen is determined whether the shift gear is in D, S or M.

-Ben

Well, all I know is every time I switch to Dynamic mode, it switches to "Battery Hold" no matter how much charge the battery has.

My apologies, I just tested it and in fact it does switch to Battery Hold after switching to Dynamic mode. To get it back to EV mode I either drive in hold mode for a while or shut down the engine and restart. It will drive in EV with dynamic mode setting if started that way, since this is my usual configuration.

Yeah, it is still a bit confusing. I will switch to Dynamic mode, and it goes to "Battery Hold" and "Sport" mode, with "S" and "Dynamic" showing on the left display. I know it is in that mode due to the ICE being on and the regeneration being aggressive. If I then switch back to EV mode it goes from "S" to "D," the ICE turns off, and regeneration goes back to mild, or whatever they call it. The odd part is that "Dynamic" still displays on the left screen. That seems to me a bug, unless perhaps it is intended that the steering is still left in Dynamic mode (I haven't paid close attention to the steering feel yet) but the Engine/Trans goes back to EV and D. But that would seem odd, given that if I wanted that I could set it in Individual mode.

 

[RandyG]

This seems to be standard Audi behavior when switching to Dynamic mode. In our S4 if I use the MMI (or dashboard mode selector) to choose Dynamic it will set the steering and engine sound to Dynamic and put the car in sport mode. I can leave it in Dynamic and put it back into D and from there the car will stay in Dynamic when started - but not in sport mode. The same is true for the eTron and Dynamic, so I'd suggest just setting it and re-selecting "D" if that's the steering mode you like.

I've been driving a Canadian 2016 model for a year now and like the fact that it starts in EV mode since I get just get right in and go, then worry about changing modes once I'm on the road if I need to. Most of my trips are short, so it's also beneficial to my driving style.

 

[RandyG]

There seems to be a lot of confusion about how the various modes work, here's how it is for my Canadian 2016 model.

EV mode is pretty straightforward, the car runs on battery only. The car starts in this mode by default, as long as the battery pack is warmer than -10C. Colder than that and it will start the ICE no matter what.

Hybrid mode will prefer using the battery under a certain % of load and will turn on the gas engine only when asked for more than that. So if you're starting from a stoplight or going under ~25mph you can request roughly 20% of the power and not engage the engine, however as you speed up eventually the gas engine will kick on with very little throttle input. It's nothing like the hybrid mode from something like a Prius, which is more like our Hold mode. There is a meter in the 2016 models with a little bar that shows how much throttle input you're giving, and where the threshold is for the ICE coming on. It changes with speed and isn't very useful if you're driving on the highway (unless it's heavy stop-go traffic) where you might as well be in battery hold mode. In this mode the battery is not used when accelerating with the ICE.

Hold Mode will let you creep around the parking lot or move forward in traffic but will engage the ICE with very little throttle input. This mode engages when the battery is drained or when Sport mode is selected. The battery isn't used when accelerating with the ICE unless in Sport mode.

Charge mode (removed from 2017 models) charges the battery with the ICE, unless at a stop. Acceleration is a bit slower, but highway performance feels normal.

In my car I've never seen an increase in battery charge when using EV, Hold (unless in Sport), or Hybrid modes. As long as the ICE is warmed up it will turn off when coasting or when stopped. If the ICE starts and it cold, it will run until it is warmed up, in any mode and will lock out EV mode until it is warmed up. This can be bypassed by turning the car off and on again. Opening the door and exiting the vehicle while in park will turn off the car unless the ICE is running. You can also get around this by keeping the seatbelt plugged in when you get out.

Sport mode will put the car into Battery Hold mode and use the battery to supplement the ICE when accelerating. It also has the most aggressive regeneration and can be used for one-pedal driving. It can recharge the battery, however I'm not sure of the threshold. The ICE will turn off when stopped or when slowing, but does stay on longer than in any other mode. The amount of regenerative braking depends on how charged your battery is. I've noticed when my battery is mostly full the regen is fairly light, but when it's down to 50% or less it's quite strong.

Hope this helps demystify the modes, and could be a good comparison for those with 2017+ models.

 

[gonkulator]

There seems to be a lot of confusion about how the various modes work, here's how it is for my Canadian 2016 model.

EV mode is pretty straightforward, the car runs on battery only. The car starts in this mode by default, as long as the battery pack is warmer than -10C. Colder than that and it will start the ICE no matter what.

Hybrid mode will prefer using the battery under a certain % of load and will turn on the gas engine only when asked for more than that. So if you're starting from a stoplight or going under ~25mph you can request roughly 20% of the power and not engage the engine, however as you speed up eventually the gas engine will kick on with very little throttle input. It's nothing like the hybrid mode from something like a Prius, which is more like our Hold mode. There is a meter in the 2016 models with a little bar that shows how much throttle input you're giving, and where the threshold is for the ICE coming on. It changes with speed and isn't very useful if you're driving on the highway (unless it's heavy stop-go traffic) where you might as well be in battery hold mode. In this mode the battery is not used when accelerating with the ICE.

Hold Mode will let you creep around the parking lot or move forward in traffic but will engage the ICE with very little throttle input. This mode engages when the battery is drained or when Sport mode is selected. The battery isn't used when accelerating with the ICE unless in Sport mode.

Charge mode (removed from 2017 models) charges the battery with the ICE, unless at a stop. Acceleration is a bit slower, but highway performance feels normal.

In my car I've never seen an increase in battery charge when using EV, Hold (unless in Sport), or Hybrid modes. As long as the ICE is warmed up it will turn off when coasting or when stopped. If the ICE starts and it cold, it will run until it is warmed up, in any mode and will lock out EV mode until it is warmed up. This can be bypassed by turning the car off and on again. Opening the door and exiting the vehicle while in park will turn off the car unless the ICE is running. You can also get around this by keeping the seatbelt plugged in when you get out.

Sport mode will put the car into Battery Hold mode and use the battery to supplement the ICE when accelerating. It also has the most aggressive regeneration and can be used for one-pedal driving. It can recharge the battery, however I'm not sure of the threshold. The ICE will turn off when stopped or when slowing, but does stay on longer than in any other mode. The amount of regenerative braking depends on how charged your battery is. I've noticed when my battery is mostly full the regen is fairly light, but when it's down to 50% or less it's quite strong.

Hope this helps demystify the modes, and could be a good comparison for those with 2017+ models.

Now this is the kind of post that should be in a sticky. Thanks for that.

 

[MSMatt]

I've noticed while driving in Sport Mode, when I take my foot off the gas pedal, the "boost" meter shows the maximum amount of regenerative charging i.e. the needle is at about the 7 o'clock position.

I checked it in Normal Mode - just coasting had the needle mid-way into "charge" region at the 8 o'clock position, and with medium pressure on the brake pedal I could get the needle into maximum charge at the 7 o'clock position.

I'm wondering if you get the same amount of recovered energy either way. In regular mode you modulate the regenerative braking with the brake pedal, in sport mode you do it with the gas pedal.

The other thing I find interesting is the transmission still changes it's shift points, even when in pure EV mode. I was on the highway at a constant speed of (100km/hr) in sport mode and the display showed M4 gear selected. Then I moved the shifter to the left for normal mode. Nothing felt different, but when I move it back to sport mode (just to see which gear it was in), the display showed it had selected M6 gear, at the same speed, still EV.

- 2017 Progressiv (Canadian model)
- Cosmos Blue

 

[andymccrory]

Due to the way that electric motors operate, it should not matter which gear it drives in.
I believe that the gearbox changes even in EV mode so that if the ICE kicks in it is already in the correct gear.

BTW - whilst the e-tron electric motor drives through the gearbox my previous Chevy Volt had no gearbox so the electric motors ran at the same ratio at 1mph as it did at 100mph! It can do this because the ICE in the Volt purely generates electricity, it does not drive the wheels.

 

[arne]

It can do this because the ICE in the Volt purely generates electricity, it does not drive the wheels.

I believe this may no longer be true for the second generation Volt.

 

[andymccrory]

Thanks for the clarification arne.

Only the first generation Volt was sold in UK.

 

[Watsongrg]

There seems to be a lot of confusion about how the various modes work, here's how it is for my Canadian 2016 model.

EV mode is pretty straightforward, the car runs on battery only. The car starts in this mode by default, as long as the battery pack is warmer than -10C. Colder than that and it will start the ICE no matter what.

Hybrid mode will prefer using the battery under a certain % of load and will turn on the gas engine only when asked for more than that. So if you're starting from a stoplight or going under ~25mph you can request roughly 20% of the power and not engage the engine, however as you speed up eventually the gas engine will kick on with very little throttle input. It's nothing like the hybrid mode from something like a Prius, which is more like our Hold mode. There is a meter in the 2016 models with a little bar that shows how much throttle input you're giving, and where the threshold is for the ICE coming on. It changes with speed and isn't very useful if you're driving on the highway (unless it's heavy stop-go traffic) where you might as well be in battery hold mode. In this mode the battery is not used when accelerating with the ICE.

Hold Mode will let you creep around the parking lot or move forward in traffic but will engage the ICE with very little throttle input. This mode engages when the battery is drained or when Sport mode is selected. The battery isn't used when accelerating with the ICE unless in Sport mode.

Charge mode (removed from 2017 models) charges the battery with the ICE, unless at a stop. Acceleration is a bit slower, but highway performance feels normal.


.

How do Hybrid Mode and Hold Mode characteristics change when the battery plug-in charge is depleted ?

 

[andymccrory]

Based on a year's e-tron driving experience, I think that Hybrid Hold would keep the battery depleted, whereas Hybrid Auto would top up the battery slightly and you may see two white bars on the gauge.